The Song of Legolas and the SeaMaiden
by Jasper5
Summary: LegolasOC. Legolas falls in love. Will later feature sex, disaster. Canon-friendly. Enjoy!


Disclaimer: All characters except the sea-maiden are Tolkien's, used without permission, with respect.   
  
Author's Note: I figured I'd better get the prologue up here before Return of the King came out. Spoilers for Return of the King.   
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Prologue   
  
"O many ships tarry in the harbor,   
Many roads wind across the hills,   
And many roses grow on the arbor;   
Many is the girl who waits for me there still.   
  
"For swiftly come all the tides returning, swiftly golden and will not stay;   
There is no boatman can net the morning; there is no boatman can net the day."   
-Gordon Bok, "Boat of Silver"   
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In days past, when elves stood with men-   
Though with men elves no longer dwell-   
And fought the bitter foe again   
Till through the Halflings Sauron fell,   
Was one elf in the walkers nine   
Who went with neither grief nor fear,   
The youngest of a noble line,  
And of his fate I will tell here.   
  
He was called "green leaf" in his tongue,   
For Legolas, his given name;   
In elves' years was he counted young,   
And from the Mirkwood realm he came   
To Elrond's dwelling in the dale,   
To tell that he had tried to keep   
Gollum, and how that came to fail   
When orcs attacked in forest deep.   
  
It was not chance the prince was there   
When Sauron's Ring was then exposed:   
His grandsire had been Oropher,   
Who, with Thranduil, Sauron opposed.   
With Gil-Galad and Elendil   
The greatness of the line was borne,   
War it to sharpen and anneal   
With Elrond's sons and Aragorn.   
  
Well at Helm's Deep he used his bow,   
Till Rohirrim, by morning light,   
And Mithrandir came to the foe   
And turned the favor of the fight.   
Minas Tirith he went to save,   
Along the grim Paths of the Dead,   
Riding with his companions brave   
At that heroic army's head.   
  
But though there was no shortcoming   
In those who passed those caverns through-   
Lord Aragorn, who would be king;   
Dwarf Gimli, who was good and true   
And of an elf a brother made;   
The sons of Elrond, bold and free-   
Only the prince was not afraid,   
Nor death knew, in that company.   
  
Then went they down the Morthond's way   
(Where first he heard the sea gull's song)   
To sail through blue Belfelas Bay   
With troops well nigh ten thousand strong.   
Up Anduin their corsairs ranged,   
Bright as the dawn when sun appears:   
Yet Legolas by then was changed   
For the first time in all his years   
  
For on the shore the prince stood still,   
And no friend calling could him sway   
Only when he had seen his fill   
Did he then turn his face away,   
Up to the Fields of Pelennor   
And in that dreadful battle fought   
When ended Sauron and that war.   
But ever was this in his thought:   
  
"There lives a maiden in the sea   
Who at Anduin came to shore   
And there she showed her face to me;   
Her like I never saw before:   
As clear as water is her skin,   
Like seaweed dark her lovely hair   
The waves she loved and danced therein,   
Her slender arms so long and bare.   
  
And sweet her voice, although her song   
I now cannot aright recall   
And for her look again I long   
Above my family, home, and all.   
Right was Lady Galadriel   
To say the sea would make me grieve:   
How long I wait I cannot tell,   
Though I remain, I long to leave."   
  
But long in Middle-Earth he stayed,   
For others he remained awhile,   
Even as elves began to fade,   
Departing for the western Isle.   
Both Lorien and Rivendell   
Bereft were of their keepers' care;   
And Mirkwood's caverns shortly fell   
To emptiness and disrepair.   
  
Even fair Arwen Evenstar,   
When time to board the boats drew nigh   
To go where peace and solace are,   
Chose to love Aragorn and die.   
Then from the moment of her birth,   
Full numbered was her every breath:   
Her choice to lie beneath the earth,   
Decayed in the embrace of death.   
  
What wonder would the world of men   
Think elves' remains there seem to be?   
Would they tell tales of elves again,   
Or in the ruins their glory see?   
When pages fade or stain with grime,   
When flets from dead mallorn-trees fall,   
When graven stones dissolve with time,   
None would the world of elves recall.   
  
To be continued.   
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A/N: There's nothing in the prologue you won't understand if you've read the books and with a little help from the excellent Encyclopedia of Arda (http://www.glyphweb.com/arda/).   
  
I've got the general line of the story worked out; it will just be a matter of forcing myself to write the whole thing. Fortunately, I'll have some free time over break, and I'm rather fond of octameter verse right now. I'll try to finish within a reasonable time. All thoughtful reviews are welcome! 


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